memeorandum: Carter's wrong to blame Obama, Clinton (Aaron David Miller/CNN)

10:50 AM ET, April 11, 2014

Top Items:

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:

Health Secretary Resigns After Woes of HealthCare.gov — WASHINGTON — Kathleen Sebelius, the health and human services secretary, is resigning, ending a stormy five-year tenure marred by the disastrous rollout of President Obama's signature legislative achievement, the Affordable Care Act.

Ezra Klein / Vox:

Kathleen Sebelius is resigning because Obamacare has won — Obamacare has won. And that's why Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius can resign. — Calls for Sebelius's resignation were almost constant after Obamacare's catastrophic launch.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, National Review, The Huffington Post and Balloon Juice

Ben Domenech / The Federalist:

Kathleen Sebelius's Resignation Hands Republicans A Golden Opportunity — Kathleen Sebelius is resigning, and Rachel Maddow is right to not be happy about it, not one little bit. For once, I completely agree with Maddow's analysis. This surprise resignation presents Republicans …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler

Bloomberg:

Sebelius to Resign as Chief of Obama's Health Programs — Kathleen Sebelius, the U.S. health secretary who steered the troubled rollout of President Barack Obama's signature health-care law, will resign just as the program topped its first-year enrollment goal.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Bloomberg View and News Desk

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Health Care Nightmares — When it comes to health reform, Republicans suffer from delusions of disaster. They know, just know, that the Affordable Care Act is doomed to utter failure, so failure is what they see, never mind the facts on the ground. — Thus, on Tuesday, Mitch McConnell …

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:

The Sebelius Legacy: One Epic Tech Failure, Millions of Newly Insured Americans — On Thursday morning, Kathleen Sebelius testified before Congress and announced that Obamacare signups had reached 7.5 million people. — On Thursday evening, news broke that Sebelius was stepping down as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, Hot Air, Bloomberg View and The Raw Story

Michael Tomasky / The Daily Beast:
Will Kathleen Sebelius Win in the End? Legacy Tied to Obamacare's Outcome

Discussion: Daily Kos

Joanne Kenen / Politico:
Kathleen Sebelius resigns as HHS secretary

Discussion: naked capitalism and CNN

USA Today:
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius resigns

Discussion: Scared Monkeys and The Heritage Foundation

Kathleen Sebelius / CNN: Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius resigning

Jeff Zeleny / ABC News:
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Resigning

Discussion: ABC News and National Review

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Short on accomplishments, Hillary leans on Bill and Barack to sell candidacy — BARACK OBAMA HILLARY CLINTON BILL CLINTON 2016 ELECTIONS — Last week Hillary Clinton gave what appeared at first to be a rambling and unfocused answer when asked to name the proudest achievement of her four years as Secretary of State.

Laura Myers / Las Vegas Review-Journal:

Shoe misses Hillary as she speaks at recycling conference in Las Vegas — A female protester threw what she said was a shoe at Hillary Clinton near the start of the Democrat's speech at a metal recycling conference in Las Vegas on Thursday. — Authorities said they were arresting the woman, who would not give her name.

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Caller and Balloon Juice

Katie Glueck / Politico: Reports: ‘Shoe’ thrown at Hillary Clinton in Las Vegas

Samantha Power / US Department of State:

Remarks by Ambassador Samantha Power, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, at a General Assembly Session on Improving Global Road Safety — U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations — Mr. President, colleagues, the United States is pleased to cosponsor and urge …

Jeryl Bier / Weekly Standard:

U.S. Cosponsors U.N. Resolution to Fight Texting and Driving — While crises continue in Ukraine, Syria, Iran, and the Central African Republic, the United Nations turned its attention to a different kind of crisis on Thursday: the “global road safety crisis.”

Discussion: United Nations and The Week

Rush Limbaugh:

CBS Declares War on Heartland of America — RUSH: Do you really care what I think about that? (interruption) Do you care what I think of Colbert getting Letterman's gig? (interruption) You really care about what I think about that? (interruption) Well, I'll give you the short version.

Discussion: Americans Against the …, PoliticusUSA, Talking Points Memo and CNN

Dave Itzkoff / New York Times:
Colbert to Succeed Letterman on ‘Late Show’

Discussion: CNN, Liberal Values, The Huffington Post, CBS Press Express and Liberaland

Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:

The IRS Scandal Comes Into Focus — House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp lays out damning evidence of Lois Lerner's targeting of conservative groups. — Nearly a year into the IRS scandal, we still don't know exactly what happened—though we are finally getting an inkling.

Discussion: Betsy's Page

Aaron David Miller / CNN:

Carter's wrong to blame Obama, Clinton — John Kerry's travels … (CNN) — First some full disclosure: Former President Jimmy Carter has been pretty good to me. He gave me in-person interviews for my last book and a forthcoming one on the end of greatness in the presidency.

Discussion: Mediaite and Politico

Steven L. Spiegel / Los Angeles Times:
Memo to John Kerry: Stay strong on the Middle East

Discussion: TIME, Hot Air and Right Turn

Yahoo! News:
Kerry ‘betrayed and surprised’ by McCain onslaught

Discussion: Hot Air and Weekly Standard

Ted Barrett / CNN:

Anger over last year's filibuster fight rekindles on Senate floor — Washington (CNN) - Fallout from last year's fight over filibuster rules in the Senate is still being felt on Capitol Hill. — Senators had hoped to finish their work and begin a two week spring recess Thursday but instead ran …

Discussion: Politico

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Harry Reid, Mitch McConnell battle on the floor

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Hot Air

Ayaan Hirsi Ali / Wall Street Journal:

Here's What I Would Have Said at Brandeis — We need to make our universities temples not of dogmatic orthodoxy, but of truly critical thinking. — On Tuesday, after protests by students, faculty and outside groups, Brandeis University revoked its invitation to Ayaan Hirsi Ali to receive …

Discussion: Israel Matzav

Scott Conroy / Real Clear Politics:

Marsha Blackburn to “Test the Waters” for 2016 Bid — PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Tennessee Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn will consider running for president in 2016 — if she sees an opportunity to do so, an aide to the 7th District Republican told RealClearPolitics.

Discussion: Hot Air and The PJ Tatler